As 2025 comes to a close, conversations about retirement security aren’t slowing down—they’re gaining momentum. This year, we published stories highlighting public employees, pension reform, and the nation’s shifting retirement landscape. Together, these stories reached more than 2 million people across 136 media outlets, reflecting a growing national demand for stability, fairness, and long-term security.
We’re taking a look back at the stories that inspired action, elevated worker voices, and shaped the narrative around public pensions nationwide. These are our defining stories of the year—wrapped!
1. Most-Viewed Story of 2025: A Look at America’s Retirement Crisis
“A Possible Shift Seen in America’s Troubled Retirement Savings Landscape”
Nearly half of American households have no retirement savings. This piece examined the roots of the crisis while highlighting promising developments that could reduce pressure on individual workers. It captured national attention by underscoring just how urgent and solvable retirement insecurity can be.
Published on February 13, this story reached more than 1,041,863 people across 98 outlets, making it the most widely shared pension story of the year.
2. Standout Worker Story: Paraeducators Demand Fairness
“CT Paraeducators Organize to Get a Living Wage”
Paraeducators—who play essential roles in classrooms—continue to face low wages and limited retirement benefits. Their organizing efforts struck a chord nationally and amplified calls for dignity, stability, and fair compensation in education.
This February 18 story reached 518,182 audience members via 27 outlets, making it one of the year’s most compelling worker-centered narratives.
3. State Spotlight: Michigan’s Push for Pension Action
Michigan remained one of the most active states in pension news this year, with two widely shared stories capturing statewide attention after nine bipartisan bills passed the Legislature—but were never sent to the governor before Republicans took control of the House in January. Among them were proposals to strengthen retirement benefits for overworked corrections officers. And the conversation didn’t stop there—ongoing legal and political disputes have kept these issues firmly in the spotlight.
“Public Safety Pension Bills in Limbo After Passing House, Senate”
This January 29 story, reaching 181,598 audience members across 15 outlets, brought attention to bipartisan bills that advanced through the Legislature before unexpectedly stalling.
“Corrections Officers Rally Over Stalled Pension Bills”
Published on May 15, this story reached 136,182 audience members across 20 outlets, highlighting corrections officers’ demand for action on legislation that would place them in the same pension system as the Michigan State Police.
Update: Legislative Stalemate Extends Into Year’s End
Presently, there has been little movement toward these bills becoming law, as their fate remains tied up in a first-of-its-kind legal dispute. Last week, Michigan House Republicans appealed to the state Supreme Court, seeking to overturn a lower-court ruling requiring the current Legislature to transmit previously passed bills to Governor Gretchen Whitmer for action.
Republican leaders argue that one Legislature cannot be compelled to finish the work of its predecessor. Democratic leaders counter that the delay amounts to political obstruction—stalling progress on health care affordability, cost-of-living relief, and long-overdue retirement improvements for firefighters, teachers, and corrections officers.
The Michigan Supreme Court is not required to take the case and has no deadline for deciding whether to accept it. If the Court declines to hear the appeal, the lower-court ruling stands—meaning the bills must be sent to the governor.
4. Most Reassuring Policy Story: Ohio’s Resilience Amid Market Volatility
“Expert: Ohio Pension Funds Resistant to Tariff-Related Market Volatility”
As national economic shifts created anxiety for retirees, this piece—featuring commentary from Kendal Killian, Executive Director of the National Public Pension Coalition—highlighted how Ohio’s public pension systems are built to weather short-term market volatility. The story, which reached 168,089 audience members across nine outlets after publication on May 27, provided timely reassurance for workers and retirees alike.
As we reflect on this year’s most impactful stories, one thing is clear: the movement to protect and strengthen public pensions is growing in urgency and visibility. Workers across the country are raising their voices, policymakers are feeling the pressure to act, and communities are more engaged than ever in the fight for retirement security. In 2026, we will continue to amplify these stories, challenge misinformation, and advocate for the stable, fair, and dignified retirement every public employee deserves.